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Sonoma Creek Falls

Sonoma Creek Falls is a photograph taken in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Sonoma County.  The headwaters of Sonoma Creek Falls forms in the rugged surrounding hills in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. The Mayacamas mountains above Sonoma Creek Falls include Hood Mountain and Bald Mountain. The water of Sonoma Creek Falls eventually discharge into the San Pablo bay in the Napa-Sonoma Marsh.

Sonoma Creek is 33.4 miles long and is one of two principal drainages of water in this area in southern Sonoma County California. California has designated the waters of Sonoma Creek Falls as a “Critical Coastal Water Resource” watershed.

Sonoma Creek flows through a gorge in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and the Sonoma Creek Falls is found with a hike along the creek. Sonoma Creek Falls is formed in the winter when the rains from the Pacific Ocean come ashore. The 25 foot waterfall will linger till May, and sometimes later into the summer with sufficient rainfall.

The canyon of Sonoma Creek Falls is filled with a mixed deciduous forest. Douglas Fir, Coast Redwoods, California Bay Laurel and Big Leaf Maples thrive along with a groundcover of ferns and moss.

The Wappo Indian village named Wilikos was located in the headwaters of Sonoma Creek. The Wappo were a Native American people who lived near the Napa Valley area. The Wappo lived in dome shaped buildings made from poles and grasses, no markings of the village exist today. The name Wappo was transformed from the Spanish name of “guapo”. Guapo means “brave and the Wappo were considered a brave people due to their resistance to Mexican occupation.  They were well known for their resistance to the famous General Vallejo and his army.

Sonoma Creek Falls is a beautiful and peaceful location at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in the headwaters of Sonoma Creek.